The concise critics

A Royal Night Out

What’s it about?On VE night, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret actually managed to escape Buckingham Palace for a night of incognito celebration. A Royal Night Out tells how the evening might have unfolded.

What did we think?Amy Currie says: Too soon. No, really. I’m embarrassingly fond of the Queen, and I hope she lives forever. On the offchance that she doesn’t, though, they should remake this film in about 30 years. Perhaps then they could actually commit to a silly, caricatured romp instead of a confused series of mishaps surrounding a saintly, duty-bound Princess entirely devoid of character flaw. It’s certainly a fun premise, but the painfully respectful depiction of Her Maj just doesn’t gel with the otherwise broad-strokes approach. It’s ridiculously incongruous – Princess Margaret (Bel Powley, an absolute standout) is mistaken for a prostitute and bundled into a wheelbarrow, but when Elizabeth chastely kisses a new friend goodbye the camera discretely pans away as if director Julian Jarrold was afraid of being hung for treason. Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) does her best with what she’s given, but A Royal Night Out would have been miles better for a little affectionate teasing.